Drowned Liberty Co. boy's parents take baby, leave

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May 9, 2012 3:39:52 AM PDT

LIBERTY COUNTY, TX --

The parents of a Liberty County boy who drowned in late March have taken their little daughter and left town, Child Protective Services says.

CPS Spokeswoman Gwen Carter says Mike and April Davis on Tuesday broke an agreement with the agency by taking their 18-month-old daughter, Abbygail, during a supervised visit at the home of a family friend, with whom the girl had been staying.

The family friend, Evelyn Johnson, says the parents loaded the baby into their SUV and took off as she was cooking dinner.

"So when I checked, some of the baby's clothes were missing and I looked outside and here was Mike. He had the baby in his arms and then mama was at the car," Johnson said. "So mama went over there and got the baby, threw her into the car and took off."

Liberty County Sheriff's Office Capt. Rex Evans said he was able to get into contact with the Davises and had them pull over in the town of Woodville, which is about 35 miles east of their home. But because CPS does not have custody of Abbygail and her parents did not commit any crime, no Amber Alert could be issued and officers could not detain the parents. However, officers did conduct a welfare check on the parents and the baby before allowing them to continue on, possibly headed back home to Virginia.

Mike and April Davis are also the parents of Devon Davis, the two-year-old boy who wandered from his Liberty County home in late March and drowned at a nearby lake. April Davis says she had put him down for a nap, went to sleep herself and when she woke up, she couldn't find the boy. Devon's body was discovered days later in a nearby lake, and his death was ruled accidental.

But after Devon's drowning incident, the Davises met with CPS in a family team meeting, and together, they determined the couple needed some services in order to properly care for baby Abbygail. That's when CPS and the parents entered into what's called the Child Safety Plan. The agreement essentially states the Davises would let their daughter stay with a family friend until they got the help they needed and CPS approved their living conditions.

Capt. Evans says it's now up to CPS to decide if they want to investigation. They agency has not yet said what, if any, steps will be taken to get the Davises to return Abbygail.